Covid-19, mumps, and chickenpox outbreaks. Contaminated water, moldy food, and air ducts spewing black dust.
KFF Health NewsJul 30 2024
Durazo said that many detainees live in substandard conditions and that communicable diseases sweeping through these facilities could pose a risk to surrounding communities. Immigration is regulated by the federal government. GEO Group, the country's largest private prison contractor, runs California's federal centers, located in four counties. Together they can house up to 6,500 people awaiting deportation or immigration hearings.
In 2021, state lawmakers passed a bill requiring private detention centers to comply with state and local public health orders and worker safety and health regulations. That measure was adopted at the height of the covid-19 pandemic, as the virus tore through detention facilities where people were packed into dorms with little or no protection from airborne viruses.
Under the measure, public health officers would determine whether the facilities are complying with environmental rules, such as ensuring proper ventilation, and offering basic mental and health care, emergency treatment, and safely prepared food. Even though they likely can't force the detention centers to comply with their recommendations, their reports could provide valuable information for public officials, attorneys, and others who want to pursue options such as litigation, he said. "When the system isn’t working, the courts can play a very profound role," Benjamin said.
ICE and the GEO Group have been the subjects of lawsuits and hundreds of complaints alleging poor conditions inside the California facilities since the pandemic began. Some of these lawsuits are pending, but a significant share of complaints have been dismissed, according to a database maintained by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Lovos, who was born in El Salvador and uses the pronouns they/them, has been a legal permanent resident for 15 years and was detained by immigration officials while on parole.
Covid-19 Food Health Care Mental Health Mumps Pandemic Public Health
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